Beijing Hutong Tour

Beijing Hutong is an important significant in the development of modern Beijing city. Hutong means small streets or lanes , and there are hundreds of such lanes in and around Beijing through the years. These days , according to the  local tour guide , some parts of the hutongs had been renovated, upgraded and opened to tourists, while others though upgraded still occupied by the local senior residents . The senior residents would rather stay in the square courtyard houses in these hutongs than to stay in the concrete highrise apartments with modern facilities.
This is the part of hutong we were taken to on the hutong transport , the trishaw .

The Bell Tower 

Tourists on the trishaw , ready for a ride through the hutongs

Renovated hutong houses , like this one with the air-conditioner unit .

Hutong residents' daily recreation - gambling  , in public !     

A visit to the square courtyard house & spoke to the owner , a 4th generation resident of hutongs.

Some of these ' siheyuan ' or square courtyard houses are opened to tourists. They will stay at home and receive tourists from all over the world . Tourists can snap photos with them or their house, or ask them any questions , through interpreter most of the time.

At the exit of the hutong, we came out to this junction . 

The hutong tour took about 10 -15 mins on the trishaw. It was at this exit when we had an unpleasant encounter with the trishaw peddlers . They demanded that individual tips be paid even when the tour guides told them it had been paid .
Lucky that the bus was near , and picked us up fast .
Pheeewwwwww !!